It's fairly common to see ridiculous takes during the college football off-season, if for no other reason than to generate discussion and help pass the time until kickoff. On Friday, one of those instances occurred when a Twitter account shared what appears to be a screenshot from ESPN comparing Charles Woodson's stats in 1997 to Travis Hunter's stats in 2023.
Charles Woodson – Travis Hunter comparison. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WO638v2r4w
Not surprisingly, Michigan fans pushed back pretty hard on what they view as a ridiculous comparison.
There's absolutely no question that Travis Hunter is one of the most electric two-way players in college football, and his numbers certainly speak for themselves. In 2023, he was on the field for 1,002 snaps from scrimmage (436 on offense, 566 on defense), and added an additional 30 plays on special teams through nine games. Offensively, Hunter finished the 2023 season with 721 yards and 5 touchdowns on 57 receptions. Defensively, he finished with 30 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 5 PBUs. Put simply, it was an extremely productive season for the sophomore on a team that finished 4-8.
But taking that production to the level of comparing him to a guy who is one of the greatest college football players of all-time feels like a bridge too far. Sure, Hunter's numbers offensively in 2023 look better than Woodson's in 1997 – but Hunter also played significantly more snaps in a pass-heavy offense that threw the ball 474 times. When it comes to the defensive impact, there is no comparison.
As a result of his stellar play defensively in 1997, Woodson was named B10 Defensive Player of the Year, won the Jim Thorpe Award (given to the best defensive back in the country), captured the Bronko Nagurski Award (given to the nations top defender), was named as a consensus first-team All American, and ultimately became the first (and still only) defensive player to capture the Heisman trophy.
En route to a perfect 12-0 record and a National Championship in 1997, Woodson accumulated 43 tackles and 7 interceptions, while adding 231 yards and 2 touchdowns on 11 receptions (15 yards and 1 touchdown on on 3 rushing attempts). He also had one of the most iconic plays in Michigan Football history, taking a punt return 77 yards to the end zone against the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor.
Again, I mean no disrespect to Travis Hunter. He's a great player who has the opportunity to do some special things in his career. But Charles Woodson is a Heisman trophy winner, a National Champion, and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. I get that it's the off-season, but let's pump the brakes on the ridiculous comparisons.
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